Gary Lucas tickets and 2024 tour dates

Biography

Gary Lucas is an acclaimed American guitarist, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, and an international recording artist with over a dozen solo albums to date, and a soundtrack composer for film and television. He has been described as "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" (David Fricke, 16 Nov. 2006, Rolling Stone); a "legendary leftfield guitarist" (The Guardian, 24 Dec. 2005); "the thinking man's guitar hero" (The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2007), and one of "the most innovative and challenging guitarists playing today" (fRoots, March 2002).

Lucas tours the world solo, as well as with several different ensembles including his longtime band NYC-based group, Gods and Monsters, a psychedelic rock band based around Lucas's guitar playing and songwriting. The band recently completed a tour of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia in the company of former Talking Heads keyboardist/producer Jerry Harrison, currently a member of the band and the producer of their most recent album. Other regular members of the band include Ernie Brooks, Jason Candler, and Billy Ficca. Lucas also lectures on guitar and the music business in general. As of 2007, Lucas has performed in some 35 countries.

Biography

Gary Lucas was born in Syracuse, New York USA. He obtained a degree in English from Yale University (1974), before establishing his career in music first as a college DJ and then as Music Director at his college radio station, WYBC FM. He married his wife, Caroline (neé Sinclair, from London England), in 1984, and presently lives in New York City.

Early career

According to his website, Lucas was encouraged by his father to try the guitar at age 9, and briefly dabbled with other instruments at school, and played with various groups and combos in the 1960s, during his teens. During his senior year at high school he played for the documentary film unit of the Upstate Medical Center and scored on his first film assignment. In his sophomore year he travelled on what he calls a "pilgrimage" to see childhood hero Captain Beefheart (alias Don Van Vliet), with whom he later formed a strong friendship. From being a Beefheart fan Gary eventually became Van Vliet's co-manager and occasionally performed on stage during the 1980/81 tours - reciting a poem (usually "One Man Sentence", sometimes "Untitled") or performing the solo guitar piece "Flavor Bud Living".